The useful application of ACIM's teachings can also be a point of contention. Although some people record positive transformations and particular growth from following a course, others find the practices to be ineffective or even harmful. The course's focus on forgiveness and love is excellent, but critics disagree that it can be excessively basic and naïve, failing to deal with the difficulties of human relationships and the requirement for limits and accountability. Also, the course's period and intensive character can be overwhelming for some people, leading to burnout or disillusionment. Experts claim that enough time and work needed to perform ACIM could possibly be better used on more empirically reinforced healing techniques or spiritual disciplines which have a proven history of effectiveness.

The broader influence of ACIM on the religious and self-help towns can also be price considering. The class has influenced a substantial following and has been incorporated into various New Age and spiritual movements. However, its impact is seen as a double-edged david hoffmeister  sword. On one give, it has provided a platform for persons seeking religious development and internal peace. On one other give, its teachings may donate to a lifestyle of religious bypassing, wherever people use religious concepts in order to avoid working with personal and cultural issues. This could result in an application of escapism, where in actuality the give attention to religious ideals distracts from the requisite of participating with and handling real-world challenges.

Moreover, the professional success of ACIM and its related materials improves ethical concerns. The proliferation of workshops, publications, and seminars based on ACIM is visible as capitalizing on individuals' spiritual needs and vulnerabilities. Experts argue that the commercialization of spirituality can cause the exploitation of seekers, who may possibly invest significant time and money in to practices that finally don't produce on their promises. That commercialization can also contribute to the dilution of the course's teachings, as numerous understandings and changes proliferate, probably resulting in distress and misapplication of the principles.

Still another important aspect to think about is the exclusivity and dogmatism that will often accompany the ACIM community. While the course itself stimulates universal enjoy and forgiveness, the way it is taught and used by some adherents may result in an expression of religious elitism. This will build an "us versus them" thinking, wherever those who follow ACIM are regarded as enlightened, while those who do not are considered as misguided or unenlightened. Such attitudes can be divisive and detrimental to the course's proposed targets of peace and unity. Critics disagree that correct religious growth must foster inclusivity and humility, as opposed to making a hierarchical distinction between the spiritually awakened and the unawakened.